Type of Document	Thesis
Author	Kourtova, Plamena
URN	etd-04092007-114747
Title	Lifted Up By The Power of the Saints: Prihvanati, Music, and Embodied Experience in the Firewalking Rituals of Two Bulgarian Nestinari
Degree	Master of Music
Department	Music, College of
Advisory Committee	Advisor Name Title Michael Bakan Committee Chair Benjamin Koen Committee Member Michael Uzendoski Committee Member
Keywords	Music And Ritual Firewalking Bulgarian Music Thracian Rituals And Symbolism Bulgarian Folklore Prihvanati Holotropic Experience Spirituality And Music Embodiment Nestinarstvo Musical Experience And The Body Nestinari Music And The Body Music And Healing Transcendence Music And Dance
Date of Defense	2006-12-15
Availability	unrestricted
Abstract This thesis explores the experience of Bulgarian ritual firewalking, prihvanati, from the perspective of two individual nestinari(firewalkers), Ivailo Ayanski and Vesselina Ilieva. Building upon their personal accounts, it focuses on the history and context of the firewalking rite and the transcendent qualities that are at the heart of its performance. With specific attention to music, ritual symbolism, ancient historical roots, and individual accounts of the two firewalkers, I examine the experiential nature of this state of "being lifted up" as an interaction between bodily, musical, and metaphysical experiences. As I argue, in establishing a connection between interdependent and interrelated domains of human experience such as body, music, and divinity, the Bulgarian nestinari formulate a state of wholeness that fosters a renewed cosmological balance and, in turn, individual and communal well-being.
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